Pools of Sorrow
by Cage The Elephant In The Room
Summary: A Jesse/Rachel fic. Sort of sad. Just a follow-up conversation to their unhappy ending.


**Jesse/Rachel story below. Not much to say. Just a one-shot. Hope you enjoy it. By the way, I own nothing affiliated with Glee. :) Thanks for clicking!**

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**Pools of Sorrow**

She couldn't feel the rain on her cold skin. She couldn't feel anything. She was numb, frozen to the slippery concrete beneath her. Around her, sorrow fell in puddles, swaying its way down to the pools of water that occasionally splashed her knee-length socks. It made her skin raw and itchy, but she didn't dare peel the soaked material away from her.

The boy she was looking at paused as her eyes stared at his back. He was inches away from someone else's lips, then centimeters. Then just a hair's length away. And he paused. He knew who was behind him. He knew and he didn't know what to do about it. The girl in his arms looked into his eyes, confused. It was a romantic moment to her - a kiss in the rain. But he hesitated. Why was he hesitating?

"What's wrong?" she questioned him.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

She stepped back, the feel of the rain no longer captivating, but instead cold and infuriating. "Well, my parents are probably getting worried. I should go inside."

He nodded, avoiding her tight gaze. "Yeah, you're right. I'll call you." He didn't say when, and somehow she knew that what he really meant was that he'd see her at school and spit out some stupid BS about things not working out. It was inevitable, so she responded with nothing more than a quick nod and an "alright".

"I'll see you, Jesse."

He waved, before bringing his jacket tighter around him. He slowly turned, only to find himself staring into none other than Rachel Berry's eyes. She was caught in the rain, obviously waiting for a ride. He couldn't get away without saying something. Anything.

"Rachel," he finally said, the two syllables coming out more intimate than he intended. "Are you waiting for - "

She cut him off with a swift nod. "Yeah."

"Right." He didn't have anything else to say.

She started to shiver from the harsh beating of the weeping above. He noticed and his eyes flickered over to his Range Rover.

"You can go," she told him softly, unusual for the spunky diva. "My dads are probably at home or something. American Idol just started up again so they probably just forgot."

He sighed and knew he couldn't leave her here. "Let me give you a ride."

"No, I - "

"You're shivering. You'll get sick. Let me take you home, Rach."

She looked down at her arms, covered in goose bumps. "Okay." She followed behind him and when they were on the way to her house, she stared out the window to avoid conversation.

"So, what were you doing back there?"

She shifted to catch a glimpse of him, his eyes focused on the road. "I was..." God, what was she doing? "I was just being a kid again."

He looked over to her, with a question hanging in the air.

"When I was younger, my dads used to buy me ice cream over there and there was this park that we just sort of stumbled upon. It was secluded, but I liked it. I mean, I've always hated being alone. But back then, it was the only place where I felt that I could be anyone I wanted to be. I was free to just be Rachel Berry. No singing, no dancing. I was just me." She looked down to her still cold hands. "It's stupid."

"No, it's not."

She swallowed as she rubbed her hands. Jesse noticed and put the heat on. "So, was that your girlfriend?"

He stiffened at her question and the speedometer steadily crawled higher and higher. "It's...complicated."

"What's so complicated about it? She either is or she isn't, right?" The two questions were so incredibly Rachel that he laughed before he could process that the fact that they were treading over dangerous territory.

"She's more of a single-serving girl, if you know what I mean." He shrugged as if it were natural.

She thought about it. "So, she's a one-time sex only thing?"

His jaw clenched. "More or less."

"Oh."

He slowed down as he turned onto her street. Her picturesque house was just thirty seconds away. Thirty seconds and he would be free to breathe again.

When he pulled up to her driveway and stopped the car, Rachel stalled getting away from the first boy to ever truly break her heart. "Do you remember when you broke - "

His eyes pleaded with her to not bring it up. He hated himself for doing that, he hated the looks on all of their faces. He hated what he had done to her. Yes was the answer. Yes, he couldn't help but replay that moment every now and then in his head. "Yes," he told her.

"You said that you loved me," she told him. "Did you mean that?"

"Rachel - "

She was persistent. "Did you _mean_ that?"

"Yes."

She fell back against the seat and unbuckled her seatbelt. Just before she opened the door to leave, Jesse grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Rachel."

"Jesse, I loved you, too. But that doesn't matter anymore. Love doesn't conquer all. It's not indestructible. Sometimes, it's just not enough."

"I know that. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. For the hazing. For everything." It was hard for him to sputter out the words. Apologies were so foreign to him. They were so...weak.

She exhaled heavily. "I - keep it, Jesse. I'm going to go inside now. And you're going to continue to make single-serving...friends. I'm not playing this game anymore. Goodbye, Jesse."

She got out and walked through the pouring rain to her front door. Once she disappeared inside, Jesse stared at the tiny puddle of water her hair had left behind on his leather seat. It was a dismal indication that everything they once were had been reduced to a pool of complete and utter despair.

"Goodbye, Rachel."

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**Aww, so sad. I love me some Jesse/Rachel. Maybe a sequel? Maybe a part II? "Waves of Joy" perhaps? ;)**


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